London, UK (5 January 2014): Global diversified media firm Alpha1Media International on January 5 launched its acclaimed annual list of the top films from around the world which cinema audiences can look forward to watching in 2014.
The A1Film Preview List for 2014 highlights 10 essential and 40 interesting films from Hollywood, Bollywood, the Middle East, Latin America and the Far East that audiences can look forward to in the coming year, Alpha1Media said.
In the Quintessential category, the top 10 films from across the categories chosen, are ‘Interstellar’, ‘Transcendence’, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’, ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’, ‘The Expendables 3’, ‘Noah’, ‘Exodus’, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, ‘Peekay / Drink After’ and ‘The Raid 2: Berandal’.
In The Blockbuster – Sci-Fi category, the first two films selected are ‘Interstellar’, marking the return of Christopher Nolan to co-writing and director with his brother Jonathan Nolan, as well as the Nolan-produced film ‘Transcendence’ starring Johnny Depp – and then other films include ‘Godzilla’, ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ and ‘Jupiter Ascending’. Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the Gala European and UK Premiere of ‘Man of Steel’, at the Odeon Leicester Square, London, UK on 12 June 2013, inaugurated by Christopher Nolan, with ‘Man of Steel’ No. 2 on the A1Film Top 10 List for 2013.
In The Blockbuster – Superheroes category, the first film selected is ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’, with Andrew Garfield returning for the second installment of the reboot, facing off against Jamie Foxx as Electro and Paul Giamatti as The Rhino, and soon the infamous Sinister Six. Other films include ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’, ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘RoboCop’. Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the Gala European and UK Premiere of ‘The Amazing Spider-man’, No. 9 on the A1Film Top 10 List in 2012, at the Odeon Leicester Square, London, UK on 18 June 2012, attended by the film’s stars – also in the sequel – including Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and the film’s director, Marc Webb.
In The A1-Vehicles category, the category includes ‘Sabotage’, ‘Reach Me’, ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’, ‘The Equalizer’, ‘As Above, So Below’ and ‘Dracula Untold’. Special mention is given to ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’, which stars Superman star, Henry Cavill, in his first film after ‘Man of Steel’ and before ‘Batman Vs. Superman’. Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the Gala European and UK Premiere of ‘Man of Steel’, where they met Henry Cavill and, at the end of the year, recognised him as the A1Film Best Actor for 2013 in the A1Film Awards 2013.
In The Franchise category, the first film selected is ‘The Expendables 3’, in which Sylvester Stallone, Hollywood’s Chairman of the Action Men Board, convenes not only all the previous action legends such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, but also ratchets up the action to the stratosphere by bringing Harrison Ford (‘Indiana Jones’), Mel Gibson (‘Mad Max’, ‘Lethal Weapon’), Antonio Banderas (‘Zorro’, opposite Stallone in ‘Assassins’) and Wesley Snipes (‘Blade’, opposite Stallone in ‘Demolition Man’) into the franchise – and other films include ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1’, ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’, ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’, ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’, ‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’, ‘300: Rise of an Empire’, ‘Night at the Museum 3’, ‘Hot Tub Time Machine 2’, ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ and ‘22 Jump Street’. Alpha1Media™ awarded Sylvester Stallone with its the A1Film 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award and his film ‘Escape Plan’ was recognised as No. 3 in the A1Film List 2013. In January 2014, Alpha1Media™ is set to attend an Evening with Sylvester Stallone in London, United Kingdom.
In The Holy Epic category, the two films selected are ‘Noah’, a Darren Aronofsky film on the story of the Biblical Prophet and portrayed by Russell Crowe, as well as ‘Exodus’, a Ridley Scott film based on the story of the Biblical Prophet Moses and portrayed by Christian Bale. In 2011, Alpha1Media™ created its list of A1-Genre Films for the development of its own film projects, citing The Holy Epic as a chosen genre with archetypes including ‘The Ten Commandments’, ‘The Message’ and ‘The Passion of the Christ’. Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the Gala European and UK Premiere of ‘Man of Steel’ attended by Russell Crowe and also VIP guests at the Closing Gala Premiere of ‘American Hustle’ at the tenth Dubai International Film Festival in Dubai, UAE on 14 December 2013, starring Christian Bale.
In The Directorial Cut category, films which focus on famous directors included are ‘Gone Girl’ directed by David Fincher and starring Ben Affleck and ‘Knight of Cups’ directed by Terrence Malick, starring Christian Bale and Natalie Portman.
In The Geo-Political Thriller category, films included are ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’, starring Chris Pine and Keira Knightley whom Alpha1Media™ met in London in August 2013, ‘The Gunman’, starring Idris Elba, Javier Bardem and Sean Penn and ‘A Most Wanted Man’, starring Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
In The Hollywood Theme – 20th Century US category, focused on films set in the US during the last century, films included are ‘The Monuments Men’, directed and starring George Clooney, ‘Fury’ starring Brad Pitt, ‘Serena’, teaming up Jennifer Lawrence with Bradley Cooper for the third time and ‘The Judge’ with Robert Downey Jr.
In The 2013 Crossover category, focused on films which were released late in 2013, the main film selected is ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese – with other films included being ‘Grudge Match’, ‘47 Ronin’ and ‘Dhoom 3 / Boom 3’.
In The Global Cinema category, focused on non-English language films from around the world, the two films selected are ‘Peekay / Drink After’, the next collaboration by Indian actor Aamir Khan with auteur Rajkumar Hirani following the phenomenal commercial and critical acclaim of their film ‘3 Idiots’; and ‘The Raid 2: Berandal’, the sequel to the Indonesian action film, ‘‘Serbuan maut’ / ‘The Raid’ starring Indonesian actor Iko Owais and directed by Welsh auteur Gareth Evans, recognised by Alpha1Media™ as No. 8 on the A1Film Top 10 List in 2012. Other films included are ‘Kahaani 2 / Story 2’, ‘Bhootnath Returns’, ‘Bang Bang’, ‘Rio, I Love You’, ‘The Crossing’ and ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon II: The Green Destiny.’
Alpha1Media™ on 28 December 2013 published the A1Film List 2013, which, in order by best film, includes, ‘Gravity’, ‘Man of Steel’, ‘Escape Plan’, ‘American Hustle’ , ‘Wadjda’, ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, ‘Pacific Rim’, ‘Star Trek into Darkness’, ‘Rush’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’. Oscar-winning American director Ron Howard publicly thanked Alpha1Media™ on Twitter for placing his film, ‘Rush’, at Number 9 on the list describing it as ‘a thrilling real-life Duel where admiration comes unexpectedly @RealRonHoward in his element.’
Alpha1Media™ on 29 December 2013 published the A1Film Awards 2013, which in order of awards, includes, the A1Film 2013 In Memoriam Award given to actor Peter O’Toole; the A1Film 2013 Cross-Cultural Lifetime Achievement Award given to Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan; the A1Film 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award is given to American auteur Sylvester Stallone; the A1Film 2013 Best Original Screenplay given to Mexican auteur Alfonso Cuarón for ‘Gravity’; the A1Film 2013 Best Producer given to American producer Charles Roven for ‘Man of Steel’ and ‘American Hustle’; the A1Film 2013 Best Actor Award given to British actor Henry Cavill for his portrayal of Superman and Clark Kent in ‘Man of Steel’; the A1Film 2013 Best Actress Award is given to American actress Sandra Bullock for her leading role in ‘Gravity’; the A1Film 2013 Best Non-English Picture is given to Saudi auteur Haifaa Al-Mansour for milestone Saudi Arabian film, ‘Wadjda’; the A1Film 2013 Best Impact Picture is given to American auteur Kathryn Bigelow for ‘Zero Dark Thirty’; and the A1Film 2013 Best Picture is given to is given to Mexican auteur Alfonso Cuarón and American actors Sandra Bullock and George Clooney for ‘Gravity’.
Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the milestone premiere of ‘Man of Steel’, celebrating the 75th year anniversary of Superman featured in the A1Film Top 10 List, meeting with actor Henry Cavill and director Zack Snyder. In 2012, Alpha1Media achieved the same unique status by attending milestone premieres for Spider-man for ‘The Amazing Spider-man’ and James Bond for ‘Skyfall’ in 2012, celebrating 50th year anniversaries for both characters featured in the A1Film Top 10 List.
In a cinematic era in which Superhero Blockbusters are at the commercial forefront, Alpha1Media™ has been the only company to be VIP guests at the milestone premieres for both Spider-man and Superman, the respective lead comic book superheroes for Marvel and DC.
‘The Amazing Spider-man’ is the highest-ever grossing reboot of a superhero character, making USD $752 million at the global box office. Alpha1Media™ were also VIP guests at the Gala European and UK Premiere of ‘The Amazing Spider-man’, at No. 9 on the A1Film List 2012, at the Odeon Leicester Square, London, UK on 18 June 2012 (the 50th anniversary of the creation of Spider-man in 1962).
Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the Gala European and UK Premiere of ‘Man of Steel’ , at No. 2 in the A1Film List 2013, at Odeon Leicester Square, London, UK on 12 June 2013 (the 75th anniversary of the creation of Superman in 1938). ‘Man of Steel’ is the highest grossing Superman film in history, making USD $663 million at the global box office.
Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the Closing Gala Premiere of ‘American Hustle’ at the tenth Dubai International Film Festival in Dubai, UAE on 14 December 2013, with acclaimed producer Charles Roven and director David O. Russell in attendance. ‘American Hustle’, No. 4 on the A1Film 2013 list, was the most nominated film at the Golden Globes in 2013.
Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the Opening Gala Premiere of ‘Wadjda’ at the Gulf Film Festival, in Dubai, UAE, on 11 April 2013, meeting with acclaimed the first Saudi female film director, Haifaa Al-Mansour. ‘Wadjda’, No. 5 on the A1Film 2013 LIST, was Saudi Arabia’s first film entry into the Oscars in History. In March 2012, Alpha1Media™ conceived, advised and launched the first film premiere in Saudi Arabia in modern history, a milestone acclaimed by Variety.
Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the Opening Gala Premiere of ‘Omar’ on 6 December 2013 at the 10th Dubai International Film Festival, Dubai, UAE which was then the only Oscar-nominated film selected from the Arab World for Best Foreign Picture in 2013.
Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in Abu Dhabi, UAE, attending the World Premiere of the UAE film, ‘Spirit’ / ‘Djinn’ on 25 October 2013 and attending, with producer of ‘Arbitrage’, Mohammed al-Turki, the World Premiere of the Egyptian film, ‘Villa 69’ on 29 October 2013. Alpha1Media™ also met with actor Irrfan Khan, the only actor to appear in two films in the A1Film Top 10 2012, ‘Life of Pi’ at No. 2 and ‘The Amazing Spider-man’, No. 9. Alpha1Media™ also met with Ashok Amitraj, CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment and food friend and colleague of the late Jake Eberts, and Michael Garin, CEO of Image Nation. Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit on 23 October 2003, meeting with Eric Kuhn, Hollywood’s first social media talent agent based at UTA, and Wayne Borg, the then-Chief Commercial Office for the Abu Dhabi media freezone, twofour54, responsible for leading the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Tropfest Arabia and the Abu Dhabi Media Summit.
Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the exclusive Dubai Film & TV Commission Party at the Dubai International Film Festival on 13 December 2013, meeting with Jamal Al-Sharif, Chairman of the Dubai Film & TV Commission, and acclaimed director Shekhar Kapur, the main guest brought by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, also known as the ‘Oscars’.
Alpha1Media™ were VIP guests at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit e Dubai Film & TV Commission Party at the Dubai International Film Festival on 13 December 2013, meeting with Jamal Al-Sharif, Chairman of the Dubai Film & TV Commission, and acclaimed director Shekhar Kapur, the main guest brought by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, also known as the ‘Oscars’.
Alpha1Media™ is a global diversified media firm. Alpha1Media™ produces and advises on media creation using 10×10 types of media including phone, print, TV, radio, billboard, computer, cinema and futuristic media based on scale, motion and holograms.
In the film sector, Alpha1Media™ focuses on film development, production, financing and cultural advisory services. It currently has four film projects in development with production value estimated at over USD $300 million from 2015-2025.
